PLAINWELL, MI (WHTC) – The Marine Unit of the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department was busy on Sunday with three separate rescue operations on the Kalamazoo River in the Plainwell area, two of which involved kayakers. The first, around 11:30 a.m., involved four kayakers who tipped over in Plainwell. About two and a half hours later, another kayakers went upside down upstream east of Plainwell, and near 3:45 p.m., three more persons overturned their canoe near that same area.
All of those who ended up in the water were able to either be rescued safely or were able to swim safely to shore despite fast moving currents. All this, according to Sheriff’s Marine Sergeant Todd Wagner, is on top of yet another overturned kayak rescue in the Kalamazoo River near Plainwell. Local Public Safety officers and EMS technicians assisted in all of the first responding efforts.
Sgt. Wagner said that flooding upstream of the Kalamazoo River earlier this week has led to hazardous conditions.
